Pleached Screen hedge planting & care guide

This guide covers planting and caring for your Pleached Screen hedge. If someone else is installing your pleached screen, please share this guide with them.

Before You Start

Handling Guidelines

• Safe Lifting: Use both handles to lift the bag. Avoid lifting by the trunk.
• Weight considerations: The pleached screen can weigh up to 45kg when wet. One or two strong people can carry these around your site, or use a dolly or wheelbarrow.

Planting Your Pleached Screen

In-Ground Planting

Site Prep Tips

• Plan ahead: If practical, prepare your trench or holes before your pleached screen arrives. This allows you to discover any underground obstacles, check drainage, and confirm hedge length measurement.
• Extra soil: If you’ve removed large plants or roots and don’t have enough soil to backfill, bring in good-quality topsoil.
• Fix drainage: Most plants hate “wet feet” (roots sitting in overly wet soil). Your site must drain well—plants won’t thrive in soggy, water-logged soil. Check the drainage at several places along the new hedges site, at the lowest points especially. Test by pouring water into the trench and watching for a couple of hours. If it doesn’t drain, improve drainage before planting. Plant according to WET HEAVY SOIL diagram, below.
• Root Control Option: Concerned about vigorous roots (e.g. Ficus tuffi) spreading to pipes or paths? Consider adding a 600–900mm high root barrier along the side of the trench/planting area to keep roots in check—install it before placing the pleached screen.

* SOIL TYPE PLANTING ADJUSTMENTS

• Well-drained soil: the top of the rootball should be level with the surrounding ground.
• Heavy clay soil or a particularly wet site/high water table: raise the rootball one-third above ground level. Cover the exposed rootball sides with soil, sloping it down to ground level. Don’t pile soil against the plant trunks. See WET HEAVY SOIL diagram.
• Light sandy soil or planting your hedge across a steep site: dig a slightly deeper trench and set the rootball just below ground level. Don’t pile soil against the plant trunks. See DRY SANDY SOIL diagram.

Planting

• Dig a trench 400mm* deep x 400mm wide for the full hedge length, or individual holes 400mm* deep x up to 600mm wide (* note soil type planting adjustments above). Set aside plenty of soil for backfilling later. Use a spade to loosen any compacted soil (hardpans) at the bottom and sides of the trench/hole—this will help roots to grow into the surrounding soil. A tidy, well-prepared trench/hole sets your pleached screen up for success.
• Don't add extras like gravel, compost, manure, water crystals, or fertiliser to the trench/hole/container. Gravel can contribute to poor drainage, compost/manure breaks down causing plantings to sink and can be too rich for delicate roots, and fertiliser is too strong for roots at this stage—use it on top later.
• Prep the rootball: Water it well in its bag. Cut two sides of the bag to gently free the rootball.
• Place rootballs in the trench/holes container, keeping trees straight, level, equidistant, and frames facing the same way. For a solid hedge, space them 1m apart (one screen per metre). Adjust until they’re aligned how you like, then backfill halfway with saved soil, packing it gently. Water well to settle it. Finish backfilling firmly and slowly add up to 20L (2 buckets) of water per screen.
• Stake your pleached screen— see below for staking advice.

In Containers or Planter Box

• Large Containers: See Specifications for minimum internal container dimensions required for 45L Pleached Screens. Use quality potting/container mix—great for enclosed spaces, under and around the rootball. Follow the relevant planting steps above.
• Open-Bottom Planters: Great for adding extra height! Use garden mix or topsoil under and around the rootball. Follow the relevant planting steps above.

Staking

Support your screens while roots establish and anchor:

• Ideas: Tie frames to a wire attached to your fence, or use a stake-and-wire setup (like a Waratah) on the sheltered side, or use traditional tree staking methods—drive two 1.8m stakes 100mm from each rootball and tie loosely with soft ties.
• Care: Check stakes occasionally to ensure they’re secure and not rubbing the trees. Remove them once growth is strong enough and the site is sheltered. Timing varies but could be as soon as a year after planting.
• Frames: The bamboo frames stay in place—they’ll rot away naturally or can be removed later if no longer needed.

Watering

Deep watering is key for the first summer or two and during dry or windy spells after that. Keep soil moist but not soggy—check the root zone often. Too much or too little water stresses plants, inviting pests, leaf drop or failure to thrive. For multiple screens, use dripper irrigation with spikes inserted into the top of each original rootball — available from your local garden supply retailer. Planter-grown screens will need permanent irrigation management since they rely on you, not rain or groundwater.

Indicative water volume and frequency: While establishing and during the warm and dry months, water deeply every 2-3 days. The volume will depend on the variety, soil, season, and weather. Ficus tuffi screens can require up to 15L per watering in some conditions, whereas other varieties require much less (5-10L). The soil should feel moist about 5cm below the surface — not dry, not soggy.

Feeding and Mulching

• Fertiliser: Twice a year, each spring and summer, sprinkle a slow-release NPK fertiliser (like Nitrophoska® , Nitro Blue or Triabon®,) over the rootballs. These provide nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K)—plant essentials—available at garden stores.
• Mulch: Spread a 50-100mm layer of organic mulch (e.g., bark) over the rootball and soil to hold moisture and block weeds. Keep mulch away from tree trunks. Don't use fresh grass clippings, either. Refresh mulch each spring after feeding.

Trimming

• Evergreen Screens: Lightly trim up to 4 times from spring to autumn, even if growing them taller or wider.
• Deciduous Screens: Shape in winter, with a light trim in spring/summer if needed.

Enjoy Your Hedge!

Stand back and admire your new pleached screen. For more healthy hedge advice, see our Care Guide